IN THE LAND OF 
THE HARVEST 



VERSE 



BY 
"WILLIAM CAR Y SANGER, JR. 



^•^ 



■U^^ 



IN THE LAND OF 
THE HARVEST 



VERSE 



BY 



WILLIAM CAR Y SANGER. Jr. 

AUTHOR OF '•TIDES OF COMMERCE" 
•'THE CITY OF TOIL AND DREAMS" 



NEW YORK 
1918 



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Copyright, 1918 

BY 

WILLIAM GARY SANGER, Jr. 



FEB I9i9i8 

©G1.A4817G2 



'M). / 



This Book is Dedicated 

to the Memory of My Brother 

Henry Lawrence Sanger 



In the Land of the Harvest 



SUMMER 



Valleys of green and golden fields entrancing, 
Cool wooded hills that climb to meet the sky , 

Fair woodlands, gay with checkered sunlight 
dancing, 
White clouds on high. 

Close to the cottage wall the vine is clinging, 
Lazily dreaming are the maple trees ; 

Far in the blue above a lark is singing, 
Soaring and sailing on the summer breeze. 



SUNSHINE 

Along the hills the glint of sunbeams fair 

That kindle field and furrow with their light. 
E.efreshing with their rays the morning air, 

And cheering vale and hilltop's wooded height. 
Par in the blue, the clouds in gathered might 

Sweep in majestic splendor to the west. 
Like sailing squadrons billowing in flight 

Moving at some Imperial behest, 

Across the surging seas to Islands of th Bleste. 

1916. 



RAIN 

A veiling mist encompasses the earth, 
Broken at times by sullen drifting rain, 

A fitting mood for melancholy's birth 

Fraught with the memories of former pain ; 

Blossom and leaf alike bow down again, 

With weight of gathered dampness bending low, 

O'erladen with the moisture they retain, 
And dreary mists across the valleys blow, 
Shrouding the fields where wheat and barley 
grow. 

IQ16. 



ODE 

*'They do not know enough to care or dream, " 
So said a passer-by who saw them there, 
Wearily trudging home along the street. 
A dim and listless afternoon 
When the sun's rays 
Glowed through the haze, 
And seemed to beat 
In pulsing cadences and waves of heat 
Upon the air, 

And everywhere were toilers from the mills; 
For them few sunny days were wont to gleam ; 
From morn till night the factory alone 
Dulled with its monotone 
Their darkened days ; 
And yet the hills 
Around the town 

And up and down the valley far and wide 
Gladdened the countryside. 

4 



Ode ^ 

**They do not know enough to care or dream, " 

So said the passer-by, 

Now knowing how 

The soul may be confined yet wander far 

Beyond the loom and factory and plow 

Seeking a star 

Or planet in some dim imagined sky, 

A distant gleam, 

That beckons far beyond 

All earthly bond 

Into a day which is the deathless goal 

Of every prisoned soul. 

A day which has not come, yet is to be 

Splendid and free 

In the fulfillment of Eternity. 

Mayy iQi6. 



AFTER THE STYLE OF CHRISTOBEL 

Quiet the sea; a lonely star 

Shines in the planet- jeweled sky; 

The lazy ground-swell plays afar ; 

A sailing ship serene and slow 

Dim on the sea is passing by; 

Her lights reflected dance and glow. 

Along the coast the wash and sweep 

Of drowsy waves their cadence keep, 

And on a headland, ghostly white, 

A lighthouse flashes through the night. 

IQ16. 



A CALL TO THE HARVEST 

Harvest fields of burnished gold 

Where the sunlight tips the wheat, 
Call again to young and old: 

Leave the office and the street, 
Leave the restless city's toil 
For the freshness of the soil, 
For the plain beneath the sky, 
Where the clouds are sailing by ; 
There your heart shall find its measure 

Of contentment — free from pain, 
And the reaping will be pleasure 

As you gather in the grain. 

July, IQ16. 



THE SPADE 

A humble thing, but yet its power turns 
Great empires, overthrowing Prince and King. 
Gold from the mountain, iron from the mine, 
These and their like are children of its toil ; 
Foundations of great palaces and halls, 
And vast Cathedral towers owe their birth 
To that most potent dynasty — the spade. 
And at the last when Captains and when Kings 
Sleep after life's long battle — to the ground 
The Church consigns their dust; and when the 

prayers 
Are ended and the mourners all depart, 
The spade completes their final earthly rites 
And bids them rest until the Lord shall come 
At the last resurrection of the Dead. 

JQ16. 



CHILDREN OF THE FACTORIES 

{After L' Allegro) 

Now the day of toil is done, 

Children at the set of sun 

Beside their cottage window sill 

Watch the twilight on the hill, 

Where lights appearing wink and glow 

And chimney smoke arises slow ; 

Seated beside the window ledge. 

They talk of voyage and pilgrimage 

To foreign lands and distant shores, 

And castles great and palace doors. 

They dream of gorgeous kings and queens, 

And marbled halls and jeweled screens, 

Where they may play and wander far 

Under the mystic sunset star. 

Knights and squires give to each 

Words of welcome, kindly speech, 

And so in thought they fly away 

Into the realm of another day. 

IQ16. 



ONE TENTH 

If we could say one tenth of all we feel, 
Or do one tenth of all we dream and plan ; 
Telling of things we've witnessed far and wide, 
And characters we've met with here and there, 
How happy and how thankful we should be. 
But why be wasting time on idle thoughts, 
For though our lives might last a thousand 

years 
And we had strength to work by night and day, 
Yet we could never more than just begin 
To tell of all the glory of the world, 
Things that have happened since the world 

began, 
And all that happens now from day to day. 
Nature is glorious beyond belief; 
Man is a living witness of our God; 
The Works of Man speak likewise of His power. 
The Universe and all the Soul of Life 
Are marvelous and glorious and vast. 

10 



One Tenth ii 

Yet out of all this endless field of Life 

We may but touch some portion here and there. 

Our years are all too brief — and soon we pass 

Beyond the Portals to that Other Life 

Where — by the Cross — we'll waken in the Light; 

But while we live, God grant us strength and 

power 
To see our pathway clear and never halt 
For Barrier or Pain — but driving on 
Look ever toward the Light — till Life is done. 

1913- 



AT THE END OF THE DAY 

At the end of the day when the sun sinks low- 
On plain and ridge and crest, 

And the evening shadows deepen and grow, 
And we're tired and sick and opprest; 

We come to a home that we all well know, 
Our haven — Wanderer's Rest. 

Weary and lone we make our way 

To the portal that opens wide ; 
And we enter in — at the close of the day; 

For there we may abide. 
Nor is there any long delay — 

Once we have stepped inside. 

We loose our packs — and free from care 

We lay us down to sleep, 
And we rest — and none may rouse us there, 

For we sltmiber long and deep ; 
We rest — God knows we need our share 

For the road is rough and steep. 

12 



At the End of the Day 13 

Through the long, hushed night we find release; 

There is no danger nigh. 
There is no sound — in silent peace 

The age-long night goes by, 
Till the Light that bids the darkness cease 

Dawns in the eastern sky. 

1913- 



CHILDREN OF THE DAWN 

Children of the Dawn are we, 

Watchers of the night, 
Eager for the Dark to flee, 

Longing for the Light. 

Yearning for the brighter day, 

Dream of every soul ; 
Striving, though so far away, 

Ever towards the goal. 

Radiant — across the years 

Of our world of strife; 
Eastward — where the skyHne clears, 

Gleams a waking life. 

Guided by the dawning glow 
Through the Lands of Night 

Forward on our course we go 
Following the Light. 

1913- 

14 



AUTUMN 

The harvest fields of autumn time are calling, 
Valley and wooded hill and golden plain, 

Rejoicing where the sunbeams now are falling 
After the rain. 



15 



WHAT DO THEY KNOW OF DEATH? 

What do they know of pain 
Who only know 
The tortured blow 
Of brief affliction ? 

Time will repay them all, 
And raise up those who fall ; 
Their pain shall seem to all 
A benediction. 

What do they know of death — 
They who have died 
In might and pride 
Of life and power? 

Clergy and mourning crowd 
Praying with faces bowed 
Chanting their psalms aloud 
Echo the hour. 
i6 



What Do They Know of Death? 17 

But others — they know pain 
And death's grim power 
Through every hour 
Of life — unceasing. 

A living death shall keep 
Their spirits chained to weep 
Till Time shall bid them sleep — 
All care releasing. 

IQ16. 



THE NEW KINGDOM 

We thought that Princes came with Power, and 

Pomp, and Pride, and Might, 
But Who is this that comes to earth so humbly 

in the night ? 

We thought that Kings were born to sleep with 

silk beneath their head, 
But Who is this that finds for rest a lowly manger 

bed? 

We heard that Emperors lived in state and ruled 
by rod and bar. 

And made their gorgeous journeys in a golden 
chariot car ; 

Striving to teach their subjects that their king- 
dom stretched afar. 

But Who is this that teaches — the Truth, the 

Life, the Way, 
Making his himible journeys on foot from day to 

day, 

i8 



The New Kingdom 19 

Whose name in Faith but spoken — washes all 
guilt away ? 

We heard that Potentates were wont to scorn the 

sick and lone, 
Careless enough to help the wrecks — who knelt 

before their throne; 
Careful to aid no interest that would not serve 

their own. 

But now the lame are walking, even the deaf 

can hear ; 
The bHnd have sight, the sick are healed, the 

weak have nought to fear; 
The lepers kneel before him — and rise refreshed 

and clear. 

We heard that tears were scorned by Kings (for 

they were proud and staid) ; 
Who is it weeps beside the grave where Lazarus 

is laid ? 

We thought the Cross a sign of shame — a curse 

to hold and bind ; 
What manner of Prince has made It the emblem 

of mankind ? 



20 The New Kingdom 

We thought that Death was master of man's 

restricted day; 
But now we hear a Power has rolled the stone 

away. 

We thought the years made mock of Kings — and 

Time all bonds would sever, 
But Who is He who comes to reign forever and 

forever ? 

1913- 



THE LIFE BEYOND 

Seek not the living among the dead, 
For ye shall not find them there ; 

Think not they rest in the narrow bed 
That is only the earthly share. 

Dust, it is true, shall return to dust, 

And earth to the earth again, 
Ashes to ashes — decay and rust 

Are the prizes of earth's domain. 

But why do ye seek in the Courts of Night 
For those who are free from bond ? 

They live — in the Realms of Eternal Light ; 
Afar in the life beyond. 



21 



RAILROAD BUILDERS 

When every dream was shattered, 
When every hope had gone, 
Against odds not even a gambler's chance, 
They fought their way and they drove their lance 
Through rock and cliff — and it's still "Advance. " 
They never give in on the line. 

1 91 3' 



22 



THE LEGIONS OF LIGHT 

They shall cleanse the Earth of a million sins 

And a million souls set free; 
Their task begins when time begins, 

And ends with eternity. 
Children, under the skies of blue, 

Playing beside the sea 
And a world refreshed and made anew 

Their monument shall be. 

"What do you see in the snowy clouds 

Ever and ever so high, 
Up by the towering City's shrouds 

Where the offices mount to the sky ? 
All I can see is the vault of blue, 

And the billowy clouds in the air. 
But I know that your eyes are young and true, 

Oh, tell me what you see there ! 

"And what is that cloud bank far to the west, 
Beyond the billows of white? 

23 



24 The Legions of Light 

Its stormy dark and towering crest 

Seems like the shadow of night. 
I see the distant hghtning play, 

Flash and disappear, 
And the thunder roars — but speak, I say, 

Oh, what do you see and hear?" 

"I see the Legions of Light, my friend, 

In the smoke of the cannonade, 
Squadrons that plunge where the ranks extend, 

And the galloping charge is made ; 
Artillery smoke clouds whirl and change 

As the battle swings along, 
And I know that the gunners have found the 
range 

And they're storming the Forces of Wrong. 

''Storming the Forces of Wrong to-day. 

And afar in the upper sky, 
Above the clouds where the armies sway. 

The Aerial fleets go by. 
Far and far in the higher air 

Of the uppermost strata of mist, 
In each successive cloud-belt layer 

Wherever the foe resist. 



The Legions of Light 25 

*'I see the flash of the guns that speak 

Across the hills of cloud, 
I hear the whirr of shells that shriek 

And whine and scream aloud; 
The thunder and roar of heavy guns 

Pounding and pounding away 
Tell where the barrier river runs 

And the rival armies sway. 

"At first the Legions of Light fall back, 

Savagely fights the foe, 
Whose thundering charge and grim attack 

Deal his pitiless blow, 
But yet as the day wears on apace 

And the sunset fires burn 
On cloud and summit in starry space 

I see the war-tide turn. 

"For now the Legions of Light advance, 

Their hosts are surging by, 
Sweeping the plains and the vast expanse 

Of the valley across the sky. 
Their guns boom forth from crag and peak, 

That tower above the plains, 
And night comes on, but the guns still speak, 

The Army of Light still gains." 



26 The Legions of Light 

They shall cleanse the Earth of a million sins 

And a million souls set free; 
Their task begins when time begins, 

And ends with eternity. 
Children, under the skies of blue, 

Playing beside the sea 
And a world refreshed and made anew 

Their monument shall be. 

1915- 



SEA-COAST MEMORIES 

A silent token, 

A promise spoken, 

Whispered vows, that shall not be broken. 

The evening star, and the wave-washed bar- 

A light afar — 

And a promise spoken. 

June, IQ16. 



27 



THE RUSH HOUR 

When the long day's work is ended, 

And the never ceasing beat 
Of the traffic's roar is blended 

With the sound of moving feet ; 
If you watch the crowded places 

Where the workers throng the way, 
There you see the tired faces ; 

Wearied — after the day. 



1913- 



28 



NIGHT 

The dances now are done — the guests have gone ; 

Even the revellers are hushed in sleep. 

The lamps burn low, the streets are quiet now; 

Deserted save where here and there some form 

Paces the sidewalk up and down again ; 

A watcher of the dim, mysterious night. 

And far above — all cold, and calm, and white. 

The moon floats high through drifting banks of 

cloud, 
Its silver glory touching roof and street. 

jgi2. 



29 



MIST OF THE SEA 

A fog-bell tolling, 

The ground-swell rolling, 

And dim on the misty beaches shoaling ; 

A ghostly gray is the fog and spray 

And the sea to-day, 

As the bells are tolling. 

June, igi6. 



30 



